Darklands' character creation system is widely acknowledged to be one of the most original features in the game. It's so elaborate and immersing that it's a kind of pre-game experience. Despite it's success with DL players, it was never adopted in other games, probably due to it's apparent complexity and the difficulty to predict the outcome.
Character creation can be skipped by playing the default party.
Change attributes: select any attribute (except DF) and press +/- to increase/decrease it:
each point increase in attribute will cost 1 EP up to 29, then 2 EP up to 39, then 3 EP to 40
you cannot spend more than your childhood EP's this way
any unused EP's will be lost after this phase
you cannot increase above 40 (during this stage)
you cannot decrease below the initial attribute value
This is the only part in the game where you can fully control your attributes. It's good practice to anticipate for any attribute modifiers that occur in later stages.
Attribute Modifiers per Family Backgrounds
Stat
Nobility
Wealthy Urbanites
Town Traders
Country Craftsmen
Urban Commoners
Rural Commoners
Endurance
--
-1
-1
--
--
+1
Strength
--
-1
-1
--
+1
+1
Agility
--
--
--
+1
+1
+1
Perception
--
+1
+1
--
--
--
Intelligence
--
+1
+2
+1
+1
--
Charisma
--
--
--
--
-1
-1
Experience Points
--
+1
+4
+5
+7
+8
Skill Modifiers per Family Backgrounds
Background
wEdg
wImp
wFll
wPol
wThr
wBow
wMsD
Alch
Relg
Virt
SpkC
SpkL
R&W
Heal
Artf
Stlh
StrW
Ride
WdWs
Nobility
5
4
1
4
-
4
-
2
5
2
4
2
2
-
-
1
-
3
1
Wealthy Urban
4
3
-
3
-
-
3
2
5
1
5
1
5
1
1
1
2
2
-
Town Trades
4
5
-
3
-
-
4
1
4
1
4
-
1
1
5
1
3
-
-
Country Crafts
4
3
-
4
1
4
1
-
2
1
3
-
1
1
4
1
-
-
3
Urban Commoner
4
4
-
3
4
-
2
-
2
1
2
-
-
1
1
4
4
-
-
Rural Commoner
3
3
4
3
3
1
-
-
1
1
1
-
-
1
1
3
-
1
4
Occupations
The list of occupations available for selections depends on all previous selections, and the character's current attributes and skills.
Change skills: select any skill and press +/- to increase/decrease it:
each point increase in skill will cost 1 EP up to 49, then 2 EP up to 79, then 3 EP up to 89
you cannot spend more than your occupation's EP's this way
any unused EP's will be lost after this phase
you cannot increase by more than the possible skill increase
you cannot increase above 89 (during this stage)
you cannot decrease below the initial skill value
You can repeat the occupation selection to improve skills further:
you have to select an occupation at least once (min. age 20)
your first occupation will:
grant an additional increase of 2 to all skills
grant 20 additional EP's
your second occupation will grant 5 additional EP's
age modifiers will adversely affect attributes from the age of 35 on
you cannot exceed the age of 70
Skill Improvements for each Occupation
The first number (before the colon) is the automatic skill point gain for that particular skill, which is granted purely by virtue of having chosen that occupation; the latter number (after the colon) is the number of skill points that the player may spend EP on.
Example: 8:04 for '''Recruit''' with '''wImp''' means that, upon selecting '''Recruit''', the character immediately gains 8 skill points with '''wImp''', and may optional purchase up to 4 additional points in that skill. (the EP cost is a function of that skill's value)
Character creation can be skipped by playing the default party.
For suggestions on how to make a party, check the character creation hints and party builds.
Stages
The creation process encompasses 3 stages:Initial options
- Auto-select or enter name and nickname
- Select gender: this impacts starting attributes. (Males get +3 Strength, Females get +2 Endurance, +1 Charisma)
The name has no other effect on your character whatsoever.Childhood
- Choose a Family background - this determines:
- attribute modifiers
- starting skills
- amount of childhood experience points
- your age to be 15
- Change attributes: select any attribute (except DF) and press +/- to increase/decrease it:
- each point increase in attribute will cost 1 EP up to 29, then 2 EP up to 39, then 3 EP to 40
- you cannot spend more than your childhood EP's this way
- any unused EP's will be lost after this phase
- you cannot increase above 40 (during this stage)
- you cannot decrease below the initial attribute value
This is the only part in the game where you can fully control your attributes. It's good practice to anticipate for any attribute modifiers that occur in later stages.Attribute Modifiers per Family Backgrounds
Skill Modifiers per Family Backgrounds
Occupations
The list of occupations available for selections depends on all previous selections, and the character's current attributes and skills.You can repeat the occupation selection to improve skills further:
Skill Improvements for each Occupation
The first number (before the colon) is the automatic skill point gain for that particular skill, which is granted purely by virtue of having chosen that occupation; the latter number (after the colon) is the number of skill points that the player may spend EP on.Example: 8:04 for '''Recruit''' with '''wImp''' means that, upon selecting '''Recruit''', the character immediately gains 8 skill points with '''wImp''', and may optional purchase up to 4 additional points in that skill. (the EP cost is a function of that skill's value)